THERE’S SOMETHING different about Christmas this year. For one, all of us are a year older and for some there may be other things that have shaken the mix. Money can be short. Types of gifts vary with the times, Christmas dinner may be different and circumstances, both good and bad, could have an effect on the holiday observance.

Oakley’s Gail Brown is bubbling over. “I’ve got a new love in my life this Christmas,” she exclaimed. “And I have a second wonderful difference. For the first time I’ll have a grandchild to celebrate with. My daughter presented me with a granddaughter this year. Christmas is going to be more special for me than any I ever had.”

Christmas is rougher for Damian Smith of Discovery Bay. “The economy has me in the dumps. I have to be more careful how I spend money,” he said. “I want it to be fun for my three kids so they don’t lose the Christmas spirit. So I became more creative on what I can give them. I’m trying to bend them away from what they think they want and should get, to my way of thinking.”

Tammy Cruze of Oakley is a bit unhappy about spending Christmas thousands of miles away from her sister who is in Australia. “But what really has me saddened is that there’ll be two empty chairs at the Christmas dinner. Both my grand-dad and my uncle died this year,” she said. “But I’m trying to liven things up by doing a special corn and bean casserole.”

John Anderson of Oakley is smiling more this year. “My son came home from Iraq after two tours of duty,” he said. “It’s going to be a better Christmas than last year when we were doing a lot of praying. We still haven’t made up our minds whether to do prime rib or a turkey. The shape of the economy is partly the basis for what we get.”

Oakley’s Chiere Demello said she’s a bit sad because there will be far fewer things under the tree this year. “Things are a lot tighter with money and it’ll be less of a fun time. I’m counting my money to see if I have enough for a prime rib. Otherwise, it’ll be turkey. And I’ll have to do it because my Mom and Dad moved out of the area this year. Last year my husband and I took our three kids to Disneyland for Christmas.”

Claire Moe of Summerset will be in Reno to visit her son this year. “So I won’t be cooking because my son is a gourmet chef,” she laughed. “It’s his special hobby and I expect we’ll be having prime rib. Reno may seem odd for Christmas since we don’t gamble. But no matter where it is it’s a family thing with lots of love.”

Leonard French of Knightsen has five kids and none will be on hand this Christmas. “They’re all back East now,” he said. “So this year it’s going to be a very simple Christmas. It’ll be my wife and me with some turkey or ham just for the two of us. I’ll be giving her one gift and she’ll do the same for me. This year we’re sending money to the kids.”

“We’re cutting back this Christmas,” said Valerie Bea of Oakley. “We bought a new home and the property taxes are murder. My three kids aren’t going to get as many gifts this year. But they do understand that Christmas isn’t just about kids’ gifts.”

Preplanning means there’s no cutting back for Brentwood shopper Diana Preston. “We handle Christmas the smart way by being in a Christmas Club,” she said. “The money for the holiday is taken out by the bank gradually all year long. We don’t have to worry about it. It’s good because we added a baby to the household this year. We now have five going to Grandma’s for prime rib.”

"There is a general recognition that we don't need these military-style weapons in New Zealand, so it's very easy to win cross-party support for this," said Mark Mitchell, who was defense minister in the previous, center-right government and who supports the ban initiated by the center-left-led Labour Party.